It may be hard to believe, but riding an electric scooter is generally illegal in Quebec. According to Transports Québec spokesman Louis-André Bertrand, bicycles and scooters are allowed on bike paths, while electric bicycles are allowed as long as they have a maximum power of 500 watts and do not exceed 32 kilometers per hour. In Canada, electric scooters are not legal on public roads. However, they can be used on private properties and sidewalks.
This means that there are no legal restrictions on riding an electric scooter in Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver. Veteran racer Michael Mili believes that electric scooters are as safe as their bicycle counterparts, perhaps even safer. Alex Malenfant has been driving his electric scooter for the past two years and was unaware of the laws. If someone is injured or property is damaged in an accident involving a low-speed electric scooter, the police should be called.
Electric scooters are becoming increasingly popular in cities like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, and some levels of government have begun to take steps to make their city or province more friendly to electric scooters. With more electric scooters and e-bikes touring Montreal's bike lanes, some cyclists and pedestrians are concerned about their safety. To learn more about the laws surrounding the use of electric scooters in British Columbia, visit the ICBC website. Passengers have received fines for “lack of insurance” for a motor vehicle, not for driving an electric scooter.
As part of a pilot project across the province, GeeBee's electric scooters are currently the only motorized electric scooter allowed on Quebec's highways, according to the province's auto insurance board (SAAQ). Low-speed motorized electric foot scooters are illegal on public roads in Quebec, including walkways. However, they can be ridden on sidewalks and bike lanes since they don't require any license or registration with the government. The City of Toronto has not yet released its official rules on how to ride these electric scooters on public properties or highways.
